Balance shaft
This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (February 2019) |
In piston engine engineering, a balance shaft is an eccentric weighted shaft that offsets vibrations in engine designs that are not inherently balanced. The balance shaft was invented and patented by British engineer Frederick W. Lanchester in 1904.
Overview
Balance shafts are most commonly utilized in inline four-cylinder engines, which due to their design asymmetry, have an inherent second order vibration (vibrating at twice the engine RPM) that cannot be eliminated no matter how well the internal components are balanced. This vibration is generated because the movement of the connecting rods in an even-firing four-cylinder inline engine is not symmetrical throughout the crankshaft rotation; thus during a given period of crankshaft rotation, the descending and ascending pistons are not always completely opposed in their acceleration, giving rise to a net vertical inertial force twice in each revolution whose intensity increases quadratically with RPM, no matter how closely the components are matched for weight.[1]
The pistons in four-cylinder opposed engines move in opposite directions,thus cancelling reciprocating forces. Hence the extra complexity, cost and frictional losses associated with balance shafts are avoided.
The problem increases with larger engine displacements, since larger displacement is achieved with a longer piston stroke, which increases the difference in acceleration—or by a larger bore, which increases the mass of the pistons. In all cases, the magnitude of the inertial vibration increases. For many years, two litres was viewed as the 'unofficial' displacement limit for a production inline four-cylinder engine with acceptable noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) characteristics.
The basic concept has a pair of balance shafts rotating in opposite directions at twice the engine speed. Equally sized eccentric weights on these shafts are sized and phased so that the inertial reaction to their counter-rotation cancels out in the horizontal plane, but adds in the vertical plane, giving a net force equal to but 180 degrees out-of-phase with the undesired second-order vibration of the basic engine, thereby cancelling it. The basic problem presented by the concept is adequately supporting and lubricating a part rotating at twice engine speed where the second order vibration becomes unacceptable.
There is some debate[by whom?] as to how much power the twin balance shafts cost the engine. The basic figure given is usually around 15 hp (11 kW), but this may be excessive for pure friction losses. It is possible that this is a miscalculation derived from the common use of an inertial dynamometer, which calculates power from angular acceleration rather than actual measurement of steady state torque.[original research?] The 15 hp (11 kW), then, includes both the actual frictional loss as well as the increase in angular inertia of the rapidly rotating shafts, which would not be a factor at steady speed. Nevertheless, some owners modify their engines by removing the balance shafts, both to reclaim some of this power and to reduce complexity and potential areas of breakage for high-performance and racing use, as it is commonly (but falsely) believed that the smoothness provided by the balance shafts can be attained after their removal by careful balancing of the reciprocating components of the engine.[citation needed]
Applications
Two-cylinder engines
Numerous motorcycle engines, particularly parallel twins, have employed balance shaft systems. The Yamaha TRX850 and TDM parallel twins both have a 270° crankshaft with a balance shaft. Some twins employ other systems rather than balance shafts, such as a "dummy connecting rod" connected to a hinged counterweight as used in BMW F800 motorcycles, not dissimilar to that used in the Ducati Supermono single cylinder engine. Some larger single-cylinder engines have also used balance shaft systems.
Four-cylinder engines
The 1975 Mitsubishi Astron engine was the first modern engine to use twin balancing shafts.[citation needed] A pair of counter-rotating balance shafts at twice engine speed balance second order vertical vibration while cancelling horizontally. This is similar to the original Lanchester design, except the Astron balance shafts were placed at uneven heights to also counteract the second order rolling couple (i.e. about the crankshaft axis) due to the torque exerted by the inertia of the four pistons moving and stopping together. (This torque vibration is sometimes removed with the constant piston motion of a cross-plane crankshaft, but at the expense of a rocking couple as motion is not matched front to back). Mitsubishi subsequently licensed the patent to Fiat, Saab and Porsche.
Toyota also began to use balance shafts in their 3RZ-FE engines in the mid 90s. These engines started as a 2RZ-FE, but creating greater torque and horsepower required a longer stroke. That longer stroke required balance shafts to counterbalance the added vibration. The longer stroke transformed the displacement in the 2RZ-FE from 2.4L to the 2.7L for the 3RZ-FE.
Six-cylinder engines
In an inline six-cylinder layout, the two ends of the engine are mirror images of each other and compensate every rocking motion. The only significant vibration in a properly balanced inline six will be odd harmonic torsional vibration that can be suppressed with a harmonic damper.
V6 designs are inherently unbalanced regardless of the V-angle. Any inline engine with an odd number of cylinders will exhibit primary imbalance, which causes an end-to-end rocking motion. As each cylinder bank in a V6 has an odd number of cylinders, this rocking motion will be present unless steps are taken to mitigate it. A balance shaft, as well as appropriate crankshaft counterweighting, can minimize the rocking.
In an opposed six cylinder layout, the rocking motions of the two rows of cylinders offset each other, while the reciprocating forces are cancelled due to the pistons moving in opposite directions.
Examples
Other manufacturers having produced engines with one or two balance shafts include:
- BMW K75 motorcycle
- Daihatsu-Toyota KR engine 1.0L three-cylinder (powering multiple models of small cars)
- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
- Alfa Romeo Twin Spark engine
- Alfa Romeo JTS engine
- Chrysler K Engine (2.5 litre)
- Chrysler PowerTech Engine (3.7 litre)
- Lancia (Delta's twin counter rotating balance shafts)
- Ford Motor Company
- General Motors
- Buick 3800 V6 (1988-onwards)
- GM Atlas engine four- and five-cylinder engines (two balance shafts)
- Iron Duke engine, or Tech-4 engine, four cylinder OHV (single balance shaft introduced 1988)
- GM Quad-4 engine, as used in the 1995 Pontiac Sunfire
- Family II
- Ecotec
- Chevrolet 90-degree V6 engine V-6 (single balance shaft)
- Medium Gasoline Engine
- Honda
- 2.2 L (F22) four-cylinder engine
- 2.2 L (H22) four-cylinder engine
- 2.0 L (K20) four-cylinder engine
- 2.4 L (K24) four-cylinder engine
- Honda 500 twins
- Honda CBR1000F motorcycle (one balance shaft)
- Honda CBR1100XX motorcycle (1997) (three balance shafts)
- Honda CRF450 motorcycle
- Honda ST1300 motorcycle
- Jaguar Land Rover
- Jaguar AJ126
- JLR Ingenium
- Kawasaki
- Kawasaki Z440LTD
- Kawasaki ZX-12R
- Kawasaki ZX-14 & Kawasaki 1400GTR (aka Concours 14) motorcycles (same powerplant)
- Mazda's 2.3L MZR engine (two balance shafts)
- Mercedes-Benz M112 and M272 V-6 engines
- Mitsubishi 'Astron' engine
- Nissan 2.5L (QR25DE) four-cylinder engine
- Groupe PSA (all feature twin balance shafts driven through a helical gear off the crankshaft)
- DW12 diesel engines (except DW12 UTED)
- DW10 FC diesel engine
- Porsche 2.5L, 2.7L and 3.0L inline four-cylinder engines
- Saab H engine
- Subaru EF engine
- Tata Nano
- Toyota 2.4L (2AZ-FE), 2.5L (2AR-FE), 2.7L (1AR-FE)
- Volvo B234F, B204GT and B204FT (four-cylinder, two balance shafts, 16V-head, used in 700 and 900 series)
- VW AG BHW 2.0L turbodiesel (Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda) (4-cyl, W8 engine, two balance shafts, chain or gear drives)
See also
References
- ^ "Shaking forces of twin engines", Vittore Cossalter, Dinamoto.it
External links
- "Weighing the Benefits of Engine Balancing", Larry Carley, Technical Editor, Babcox.com.